"Odd Dog In!"
Written by Seymour Weiss (found in the November 13th, 2009 edition of Dog News, page 58)

When evaluating the extent of a judge's grasp of correct breed type, it is always necessary to turn to the breed standard. Does the judge show that she truly understands the dictates of the official document, or is she merely going through the motions? While it is not always possible to do so, when the size or composition of the entry allows, the judge should demonstrate a level of consistency in the dogs that are chosen for the top spots.

A critical factor in understanding breed type is to understand breed function. All breeds came into being to perform a certain function. Their developers knew what they wanted in a dog and selected for the traits that made for the most useful hunters, herders, guards and all the other roles dogs were expected to fill. In the majority of circumstances, we do not now expect the dogs we show to resemble Victorian examples of their breeds. Often we do not expect our show dogs to resemble dogs of the same breed used for work. But having said that, I do believe that a good show dog called upon to retrieve game, guard property or do anything dogs of its breed were developed to do, it could without doubt do it.

In our current dog show culture, so many stand in awe of the beautifully groomed, the showing fool, the large, impressive animal, but many spend too little thought on the dog that, in body and mind, is the true exemplar of the dogs we should all recognize as those which are truly superior.

We Americans turn out our dogs with more elegance and polish than any other dog showing country in the world. But when dogs are rewarded for the excellence of their grooming over the excellence of their temperament and conformation, then we have a case of the tail wagging dog. And it's being wagged in the wrong direction. During the last several decades the AKC has recognized a number of breeds whose standards call for modest, natural presentation. Think about those breeds and then look at some of them at the next show you attend. Ironic, isn't it? But even for breeds that have been in the stud book since records were first kept, we need to consider that dogs with serious, transmissible flaws should not be celebrated because of their pleasing turnout. First set the conformation, then be sure the temperament is appropriate to the breed - then, and only then, dress it up in show dogs' clothes. Dogs that can contribute to their breeds can be made as fancy looking as dogs less well endowed and the former are the dogs we should be rewarding and using toward the future of the breeds.

Sometimes a dog rockets to the forefront of celebrity because it has the attitude that catches the eye of one and all. But the notion that one size fits all doesn't fit all. There was once a very successful show dog whose temperament was all show biz but was completely at odds with the dictates of that breed's standard. Didn't matter; the dog was widely campaigned and won everywhere. And that was not the only example. There were others and even today dogs are being rewarded for acting more like circus ponies than correct examples, and they do not do their breeds enough good to justify the anomalies they show to everyone in the fancy who take the time to notice.

And then there is the issue of size. Whenever dog fanciers gather, sooner or later someone brings up size. You will hear (without eavesdropping) pious rhetoric to the effect that this breed or that is getting too big and something should be done about it. Well, who gets to do something about it? Is this the responsibility of the breed clubs, the judges, you and me, all of the foregoing? Until dog fanciers fix correct size in their minds and in their eyes and recognize the correct-sided specimen when it stands before them, little is likely to get done.

In any competitive gathering of dogs, some dogs will be closer to their standard than others, and for a variety of reasons. However, none of us should lose sight of the best dog before us because it doesn't look like the rest of them.